Wendy Brant

Okay. This was... problematic. A solid read, lots of fun, easy distraction, but I have problems.

The aspect that became the whole plot, namely. I guess Eva's mom hammered it in that Eva made an idiotic decision, but still, what the complete and utter... Come on. I needed to see more repentence from both of them about giving up such an opportunity for idiotic reasons. For most scholarships, there are dozens of finalists, so to withdraw your app in the hopes that your significant other happens to be picked? Dumb. So dumb. Her mom got it, but I'm scared any starry-eyed high schooler reading this would be like "wow it worked out" and all of a sudden throw opportunities away left and right. Sigh. My two cents.

And Charlotte's boything was kind of an unresolved plot point, too, which bugs me.

I wanted the fractal thing to be a bigger part! But really it was kind of just a typical cliche of "I'm an unpopular high school nerd of course no boys are interested in me and haha even if I am pretty like you say, they couldn't be because of this." So much potential. And it was strange how accepted it was. Is this a magical realism contemporary in disguise or something?

Despite my complaints, this was fun and I would recommend.… (més)

Wow! That's honestly how I want to start this review haha. This book was amazing! All the characters in the book were likeable, I couldn't chose one character that I dislike for any reason. There is only one criticism I have of any of the characters in the book, and I think here would be a good time to mention it. I found Eva slightly irritating at times as she stated she didn't want to come off as playing the 'orphan card' in any of her college/scholarship applications, however I found her constant mention of this made her feel like she was trying to use it to some degree. This did not make me dislike her, it was just a bit of a negative trait...

Read the full review on my blog: https://wordsarelifebooksaresouls.wordpress.com/2016/11/19/review-zenn-diagram/… (més)

So I got this book from NetGalley purely because the cover was so cute. I'm glad I did! It was such a fun read. While this book takes place during the school year it feels like a great summer read. Smooth, sweet and just a tad nostalgic. There was nothing perfect about these characters, all slightly flawed in their own ways and it reflected into the relationships they had with one another.

I loved that this story brought something a little extra with Eva's ability without making it such a crazy thing. I do wonder if in reality things would have been so quiet but not enough for it to detract from this story.

I also loved the reference to the cup of tea consent video. Ending is something I could really see happening as well :)… (més)

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book was so heartwarmingly adorable. And somehow made me nostalgic for high school calculus. This book had so much humor and pure teen drama of high school with the added complications of sometimes knowing a little too much about your classmates. I flew right through it. Eva and Zenn are a dynamic duo who keeps a smile on your face for the entire story.

Things I Liked:
-Aglos & Fractals. Being able to ‘read’ people’s emotions by touching their things could leave the average person immobile, but Eva has channeled her abilities into helping tutor her classmates in math. By touching their calculators, she can understand what they’re struggling with and the best ways to help them. She calls these smaller, more focused glimpses algos, or algorithms. While the more personal and layered glimpses are fractals - a repeating pattern that may become clear over time. Not only was the fractal imagery used beautiful, but the fact that Eva used her abilities to tutor her classmates in math was fantastic and instantly made me like her.

-Eva. Eva was SO FUNNY. She is smart and feisty and frustrated and lonely. She is a fully developed character. She reacts with humor in awkward situations because she doesn’t really have much social interaction experience. It doesn’t come across as disingenuous or quirky look-at-me, it’s really honest and pure. She’s jealous when Charlotte gets a boyfriend not only because she’s afraid of losing her, but because Charlotte is able to actually be in a relationship and do something as simple as hold a boy’s hand. She gets a crush on a boy and starts to get all fluttery and gets to actually hope that she might not have to be alone. She can be judgemental and nosey - two characteristics aided by her fractal reads - but she knows that she can be hasty and impulsive and she want to work on that. She doesn’t want to make snap decisions on glimpses of information, because she knows she can misread or misjudge a person, like Josh, but recognizes that they have their strengths too.

-Eva & Zenn. Their relationship was so adorable. They meet in tutoring and Eva gets a gnarly fractal from Zenn’s jacket, but nothing from his books. They develop a easy and humorous banter that is natural and effortless. We see then interact more and more, trading barbs and getting to know each other. We see their relationship grow and become more and I couldn’t stop smiling. They care about each other and want the best for each other. I loved seeing them be honest with each other and support each other - both with college and scholarship worries, Zenn’s art and Eva with her hectic family and her gift. The ending left me giddy!!!

-Intimacy. I like that Eva talked about not really having any experience with physical intimacy because of her readings. It’s something that she has missed out on, and that she hasn’t felt comfortable with. She is not ashamed of it, or shamed by her parents for it either and I thought that was great. It also helped to create a really great conversation about consent and physical contact.

Things I Didn't Like:
-“Not Like Most Girls.” This phrase was used a too many times in this book, especially in the character introductions. We repeatedly have Eva talk about how she (and even Charlotte) are “not like most girl.” They aren’t obsessed with makeup or shoes or boys or starbucks. They aren’t popular and are in the band; they’re different. Eva judges Charlotte a little when she starts using makeup and crushing hard on Josh. One scene felt particularly slut-shaming. When talking about her younger sisters taking bribes in their potty training, she hopes they don’t turn into slutty girls “who give it away to any cute boy who buys them dinner”. Fortunately, most of these scenes occurred in the first 50 pages or so and we don’t really see any similar behavior again.

This book was so humorous and fun. It made me nostalgic for math. MATH. It was such a joy to follow Eva as she begins to learn more about herself and develop relationships she never expected to have. It was so light and engaging while still allowing the characters to feel complex emotions and question their place in the world and what they’re doing. This was just a solid story that was a perfect spring read.… (més)